Shalom all,

Israel Update – Day 16 of the War.

Israel is at war with “Palestinians”, not Hamas. Yesterday, I expressed my opinion that Hamas and the “Palestinians” are one and the same. One article in today’s Jerusalem Post, essentially, agreed with that assessment. “[The] war that started on October 7 should not be characterized as Hamas vs Israel. It would be more accurate to extend the characterization to a Palestinian vs Israel war…[The] Palestinian people elected Hamas to power and have continued to support the terror organization’s rule in the Gaza Strip – even at their own peril…The façade that there are two groups, Palestinians and Palestinian terror organizations has vanished.” <https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-769597?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=IDF%3A+Hamas+losing+control+of+north%2C+central+Gaza&utm_campaign=October+22%2C+2023> As the writer of the above article correctly points out: “Until a total Israeli victory over the Palestinians, and a Palestinian surrender and understanding that they will have terms dictated to them, the conflict will continue – as it has for the last 100 years.” Enough said about this, at least for now.

Netanyahu is delaying the commencement of the ground operations. In the next few days, an attempt will be made to free hostages, in exchange for providing humanitarian aid. The question is whether this “exchange” will be a bit here, a bit there. The hostage release has to include everyone. This poses no small problem for both sides. IDF Spokesman reported tonight that the number of hostages is now listed at 212, the reality is that nobody can say for certain how many hostages were taken, whether they are alive and where they are being held. This is due, in part, to the fact that a number of terrorist groups were involved in the Black Saturday massacre and there is no single spokesman for all of them who can present the numbers, condition and location of all of the hostages.

The delay in beginning the ground offensive works to the advantage of Hamas and the other terrorist organizations in Gaza. They can use this time to fortify their position and plant explosives in different locations, that can be detonated from a distance. Some media analysts expressed the opinion that the heart of Hamas’s operations still has not been damaged by Israel’s massive bombardment of the Gaza enclave. Communication facilities, energy, electricity and water are still operating in centers of Hamas operations. So, while pressure is applied by Israel, most of it hasn’t yet affected Hamas. Moreover, extended delay is not beneficial for the IDF, which is trained to respond quickly and get the job done. Also, the longer we wait on the ground offensive and continue the aerial bombardment, we can anticipate that there will be more and more condemnation of Israel from places around the world that are fueled by anti-Israel media.

In the meantime, an additional 17 truckloads of humanitarian aid entered into Gaza through the Rafiah crossing from Egypt. Notwithstanding this major concession to the “Palestinians”, the IDF said that no fuel was allowed to enter Gaza.

While final figures still need to be ascertained, as of today, at least 21 children were left orphaned following the terrorist attack on 7th October. Both parents of 16 of them were killed. At least 100 children have at least one parent missing.

As of this writing, more than 1,400 Israelis and foreign nationals are reported to have been killed as a result of the terrorist attack, The number of wounded has jumped to more than 5,300. But, the dead and wounded are not the only casualties of the war that has entered its 16th day. Literally hundreds of thousands of residents from the south, as well as from communities in the north near Lebanon, are away from their homes. They were vacated at the urging of the IDF, due to the continuing missile assaults from Gaza, as well as the concern over the massive rocket barrages that are expected to be launched by the Hezbollah in Lebanon when the ground offensive begins. This is no small matter. More than 120,000 were taken to hotels that are, basically, empty now because of the war. By agreement between the government and the hotels, those who were vacated will be given lunch, which will consist of a sandwich only. The Finance Ministry is hesitant to absorb the expense associated with housing the families who were vacated from their homes. Of course, there are some who, for various reasons, refused to leave their homes and are willing to take their chances that they will survive whatever additional assaults will be made by the enemy.

It should be noted that the massive removal and relocation of citizens is already affecting Israel’s internal economy and is creating a crisis for businesses, particularly for those who are self-employed.
One more note about the terrorist assault on Black Saturday – sraeli President Yitzhak Herzog, in the course of an interview, revealed the instruction manual that the terrorists carried with them, which was actually from an Al-Qaeda manual from 2003. It included written instructions how to improvise the manufacture of a cyanide dispersion device, which apparently they were planning on using against the civilian population. It is not yet clear whether Hamas has already begun to mass produce chemical weapons. But, given the fact that they have no moral fibre, we should not dismiss that possibility.

Finally, it is clear that a second front has already opened in the north. More on this in future updates.

Please remember to pray for the IDF, wherever they are stationed and in whatever capacity they serve.

I want to leave you with a short scene that will make you smile. A child just saw his father, who returned for a short while from military reserve duty. Hopefully, it will come through on your end. 

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing,
Marvin